An electronic chassis which houses electronic components for high speed telecommunication and networking applications typically includes a plurality of vertically oriented circuit board assemblies that are inserted into the chassis. Each circuit board assembly is typically comprised of a circuit board attached to a U-shaped channel member that serves as a front faceplate of the assembly. When the assembly is fully inserted, the circuit board is connected to a backplane printed circuit located along the backside of the chassis. The insertion force required to connect the circuit board to the backplane may make it difficult, if not impossible, for a technician to make the connection by manually forcing the channel member in a direction towards the backplane.
In order to facilitate the connection of the circuit board to the backplane, attempts have been made to provide a lever at each end of the channel member, each lever having a handle portion and a hook portion. Each lever is typically rotatably attached to each end of the channel member and is able to rotate freely about a pin that is attached to the channel member. When installing the assembly, a technician must orient each hook portion to allow each hook portion to engage a flange portion of the chassis while simultaneously pushing the channel member in the direction of the backplane. After each hook portion engages the flange portion, the handle portion of each lever is then manually rotated about the pin, which forces the circuit board into the backplane. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that each lever must be simultaneously held in the proper position while the channel member is being pushed in a direction toward the backplane. This makes it extremely difficult for a technician to insert the circuit board assembly.
Problems also arise when removing the assembly from the chassis. In particular, a technician must orient each hook portion to allow each hook portion to disengage from the flange portion while simultaneously pulling the channel member in the direction away from the backplane. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that each lever must be simultaneously held in the proper position while the channel member is being pulled away from the backplane. This makes it extremely difficult for a technician to remove the circuit board assembly.
Moreover, these levers typically do not provide any latching function. As a result, the channel member has be fastened to the chassis with conventional mechanical fastening components such as, for example, spring loaded screws or bolts. However, the large number of fastening components required substantially increases manufacturing costs. In addition, threaded screw holes must be machined into the flange portion of the chassis to receive the mechanical fasteners. This also increases manufacturing costs. Also, the tools that are required to tighten and release the mechanical fasteners result in inefficiencies when installing and removing the assemblies. The removal and installation of assemblies is therefore labor-intensive and cumbersome, which also increases costs. Moreover, with mechanical fasteners, the tolerance between parts may result in the inconsistent placement of the assemblies, which in turn may cause the improper vertical alignment of the channel members.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have an apparatus for mounting a circuit board assembly to an electronic chassis that overcomes the disadvantages described above.